They hadn’t begun the research yet, even though they had all the books. They were still waiting for the two vampires. Buffy didn’t know what to think of seeing them after all of these years. Speaking with Angel on the phone had been difficult. Not because of any long-lost feelings for him, but because he reminded her of Spike and things that she couldn’t have. While waiting for sundown, Buffy slowly looked around the room and the people that were no longer a part of her life, but some how felt necessary in this one last battle, almost as if this would finally close the last chapter of her life with them.
Xander was there, happily oblivious to the tension in the room. He had been living in California, still doing construction. From what he’d told Buffy, he was now heading up construction teams instead of being the one to build the stuff. However, he seemed to miss it so usually ended up helping the rest of the crew when he could. Xander never did get married. He was still in love with Anya, never really finding peace with her death. He looked pretty much the same way he did at the closing of the Hellmouth, a little older yes, but keeping up with the construction kept him fit.
Willow had grown out her long red hair and had matured in ways that Buffy couldn’t even fathom. Gone was the girlish person she’d known in high school as well as the broken woman who’d lost the love of her life and rebounded with Kennedy. Before Buffy had begun her relationship with the Immortal, Willow had broken up with Kennedy. Something about her wanting Willow to stop “helping the helpless.” Kenney was a slayer and could protect them both – Willow was tired of her whining anyway. A few years later, Willow met a shy, quiet girl in the Coven at Devon and eventually fell in love. They’d been in a deeply committed relationship since then, living with the coven. Willow finally had control over her magic and was no longer scared of going to the ‘bad place.’
Dawn was also there, but she’d been to her sister’s house before, unlike the others. Dawn and Buffy usually got together on Christmas and tried to recreate the atmosphere that their mother had perfected. Dawn had followed in Giles’s shoes and was now head of the Watcher’s Council. She’d had a passion for the occult ever since researching the First and trying to find out more about her key status. The only downfall was that being the head of the Council kept her very busy, and she was married to it rather than a guy.
Then, there was Joe - looking so very out of place with the rest of Buffy’s friends. He didn’t know them and Buffy had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn’t really believed her stories about the undead and the like. So now there were all of these people in his home talking about impending doom. She really ought to speak with him, but…
*Ding dong* Oh, God they’re here Buffy stood up to answer the door, slightly checking her hair in the mirror. She wasn’t really sure if she wanted to look good because she wanted him jealous, or because….*Ding dong* Impatient as ever. She reached down to the doorknob and answered it.
Angel and Spike were both standing on the welcome mat, trying desperately to look calm and collected, but their hellos both came out a jumbled mess. Buffy’s heart was beating a mile a minute and she was sure that they could hear every single beat.
“Angel. Spike. Come in.” Both vampires came in at the same time, making a very comical Three Stooges impression. If Buffy hadn’t been so nervous, she’d probably have laughed. Angel was the first one to get himself righted and said…
“Buffy, my God, you-you haven’t aged a bit. How is that possible?”
“Do you want the short version or the long version?” Seeing Angel’s look, she huffed and replied “Willow’s resurrection spell kinda went kablooey with the motorcycle brigade in town. The spell was supposed to resurrect me to normal life; instead it just resurrected me to life. I can’t die or age, it would seem. The dying thing might be a lie, I mean I haven’t tested it out or anything, but if no one tries to kill me I should stay alive for a very, very long time.”
“Why do you think that you can’t die then” Spike cautiously asked, not really wanting to directly speak to her, it would hurt too much, but wanting to know the answer.
“In the hellmouth, one of the uber vamps ran me through with a sword and it was kind of the mortal wound type and it didn’t really affect me, other than, well…hurting.” He spoke to me! No, bad brain. It’s been too many years, daydreaming about him is one thing, blushing in front of him is another. But he looks so good.
“Right then” She can’t die, poor luv, can’t ever go back to her place in Heaven. She’d going to need someone to take care of her. You stupid nit, she’ll never let you, not after the things you said.
“Yeah, well I guess the short version was the long version, whatever. The gang’s all here, why don’t we get started with the research” Buffy said, longing to get away from the two of them.
“Angel, Spike this is my husband Joe Reed, honey this is Angel and that’s Spike” Buffy introduced. She wondered if Joe would say anything to her or to Spike about his treatment of her, he did know the whole sorted story. Well, except the sweaty parts, or rather the knocking down the building kind of sweaty…
“Dear did you hear me?”
“I’m sorry Joe did you say something?”
“I asked if you wanted to me to assist the rest of you in anything. I can research for demons as you call them.”
“Um…sure, I guess. I’m a little rusty at this, so Angel, why don’t you just take it from the top. You know, go over what we need to know, do, that sort of thing.” Buffy sat down and left the floor to Angel.
“Well, basically” Angel stepped into the middle of the room “Whistler came to me and told me to look up the Scrolls of Siyamak in order to learn about the apocalypse to end all apocalypses. He…”
“What is it Joe?”
“Are you actually talking about apocalypses? I realize that I’m new here but how can there be more than one? And who is this Whistler?” Joe asked, wondering how long it was going to be before he could get these insane people out of his house.
“Joe, I know that it’s complicated…” Angel started but was interrupted by Buffy.
“Joe, I’ll explain it later ok? Time’s kinda an issue and we need to hear what Angel has to say.” Joe nodded his head, but still looked baffled.
“So, like I was saying, Whistler told me about the scrolls and then left. I really hate that guy; anyway Spike and I found the scrolls from an old contact of Giles’s and translated the prophecy. But that’s all we’ve be able to do so far. We don’t know what it means, so I guess we should start there.”
“Ok” Buffy said “We could break up parts of the prophecy and decipher our sections and then have one group looking up everything we can find on this sign hammock guy…”
“Siyamak, luv.” Spike smirked. Same old Buffy.
“Whatever…does that sound like a good plan?” I’m not going to be able to concentrate with him here, not that I ever concentrated on research.
“Sounds good to me” Xander and Willow both said.
“Ok, so Angel, Spike, and Dawn why don’t you guys look through the books about the Siy…Si…the sign guy since you’re probably tired of looking at the scrolls and the rest of us will pair up and split the prophecy in half. Will and Xand and then Joe and me. Sound good?” Ok, so maybe Buffy did fall into the leader roll, but didn’t mean she had to like it.
“Angel could you recite the prophecy in its entirety, so we get the feel for it? Then away we go.”
“Sure. The prophecy says…
though many may be named in spite
and one of two who should not fight
called both a childe of night
but eagerly side with the path of the right
brought together for true love’s right
to battle the original at night
and finally end the fight
for it reemerged in spite
of the barrier born of dark and light
“Joe and I can take the first half and Will and Xand the second, k?” Mumbled agreement followed her statement.
It was about 5 am the next morning and the reassembled Scooby gang was still hard at work when a brick went flying through the front window. Buffy stood up to get it, when she noticed a large group of vampires standing outside her house.
“Uh, guys, I think we must be onto something.”
“Why’s that Buffster….oh.” Xander said as he came up behind Buffy to see that increasingly large group of vamps. Spike and Angel followed and decided to go outside in attempt to capture one of them and get them to talk. They figured that they wouldn’t have to fight them all off since the sun would be rising soon. Everyone grabbed a stake, except Joe, and began fighting back.
Once the fighting was over, they walked back into the house to find Joe sitting numbly on the couch wearing an odd expression. Buffy walked over to him.
“Joe, are you okay?”
“What were those things?”
“Vampires”
“Vampires are real? I thought that you were just a little eccentric, or just telling tall tales to pass the time. Does that mean that you were really that slasher, or whatever you called it?”
“Slayer and yes. Why would any of us spend all of this time reading these books and deciphering the prophecy if we just doing it for fun?” Buffy asked somewhat angry. Does he think I’m an idiot. This is so very embarrassing.
“Look, Joe” Spike spit his name out with disgust “we’ve got more important things to talk about than the Slayer’s past. Those gits wouldn’t tell us a thing, but the very fact that those blighters were out there and so close to sunrise means that we’re getting to something. So I suggest we bloody well get on with it and stop standing around.”
“Spike’s right hun, we need to get back to work.” Buffy said Did he just stand up for me?
“So what do we got?”
“Well, Buffy, you had the front part of the prophecy.” Angel pointed out.
“Oh, right. Well…I guess we’ll start.”
“Dear, if it’s quite alright, I think I’m going to turn in?”
“Sure” Slightly annoyed, Buffy turned back to address the rest of the gang.
“Well, either I’ve gotten smarter over the years, or this prophecy wasn’t as “shot in the dark” as the others. Well, the first line…the true chose of light…is obviously me, since the slayer line was supposed to run through me. The second just tells me the same information again, talking about all the potentials that we made into slayers.”
“The next part was a little trickier, but then looking at the fourth line, I figured that either Angel or Spike are supposed to be with me in this, both being vamps, fighting the good fight rather than the evil side. And that’s all I’ve got…Willow?”
“Right, our half…”
“Willow” “Red” Buffy and Spike both started, but Buffy continued. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, now that you’ve translated your part it seems to me like whichever vamp is supposed to be with you in this is your…um…well…uh…”
“Just spit it out Red.”
“True love.”
“What!” Everyone in the room said.
“Don’t shoot the messenger” Willow practically yelled “the line says ‘brought together for true love’s right.’ Seeing she’d get no response for this she continued.
“Apparently you guys, whichever two of you, have to fight the First.”
“No way, we defeated the First” Buffy yelled.
“Defeated, yes, killed…not so much” Willow replied.
“I bloody well did to kill it, died in the process remember there Red?” Spike winced; he probably shouldn’t talk about that whole dying part in front of Buffy. Stupid ponce, just remind the girl of what an ass you were.
“Ok, ok, but whatever this prophecy is well, prophesizing, the First is in it and it is going to be up to Buffy and Angel or Spike to stop it.”
“So, Buff, who’s it going to be? Dead boy or Dead boy jr.?”
“Xander you are so not amusing right now.” God, I have to embarrass myself again by telling Spike he’s my true love. He’s going to think I’m so pathetic, loving him after 20 years. Especially since he hasn’t looked at me once, doesn’t even care.
Everyone was looking at Buffy and making her terribly uncomfortable… “So, guys, what did you find out about this demon guy?” Buffy asked trying to take the focus off of her.
“Right now, all we have is information on the demon, nothing that really tells us what he has planned. It obviously has to be big, given the fact that Whistler guy came to Angel and everything” Dawn piped up.
“Oh and Buffy? Not to sound all watcher-ish, but I think that you need to do some serious training with Angel or Spike. You only got two vamps.”
“I know…I need work, I haven’t patrolled in 15 years. But it did feel good tonight, like I was doing something right. It’s been awhile.” Crap, I shouldn’t have said that. Spike’s going to think that I don’t have a perfect normal life.
“Well, I’m going to go to bed. Um, guys, can we start training later today?”
“Sure” they both said. As Buffy turned to walk upstairs, Angel stopped her with one sentence.
“Buffy, you and I are going to have to find out what we need to do in order to stop the ritual. So we can’t spend all day training while the others research.”
“What do you mean ‘what we need to do to stop the ritual?’”
“Well, your true love…” Angel stated with confidence.
“Angel, you aren’t my true love” with that, Buffy went up the stairs, leaving shock in her wake.
Here’s another chapter for you guys. Enjoy! Thanks for all of the reviews. Hopefully some of the questions that you guys had were answered. Hope to hear from you soon. Inara